Save the Last Dance for Me
by joanna4077
Summary: HM, This is my first story! Kind of a new take on an old story line. I can't guarantee a happy ending. It's finished!
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the MASH characters; this is strictly for fun

Boston October 1954

Margaret awoke to the sound of a child's giggling. When she opened her eyes she saw her daughter's tiny smiling face not even two inches away from her own. Smiling Margaret sat up pulling Emma in her lap at the same time. Andy stood in the doorway of their bedroom with a huge grin on his face. Ever since she'd accepted his marriage proposal last night, he hadn't been able to stop smiling. At that moment he heard the phone ringing downstairs.

"Hello?"

"Hi, I'm glad I caught you guys before you went out celebrating."

"Aren't you at work today Trapp?"

"Yup, that's why I called"

"I don't think I want to hear the rest" Andy replied

"We really need your help up here, we've got about 3 patients in critical condition lined up to go to the OR, and we're short staffed because Davis is still out on vacation."

"Just give me about 20mins to get there"

"See ya then"

By this time Margaret had gotten dressed and had come downstairs to see who was on the phone.

"Was that Trapp?"

"Yeah he needs me to come in"

"But we're supposed to take Emma to the beach today"  
"I'm sorry baby" he said as he leaned down to hug her "I promise to make it up to you"

"You'd better" she replied standing on her tiptoes to kiss him

After he'd left to go to work, Margaret decided that she'd still take Emma to the beach. After inviting Samantha, the three girls took off for a fun day at the beach.

Margaret and Sam lye on the beach sunbathing as Emma played in the sand.

"I can't believe you're getting married again Margaret"

"Actually I wouldn't admit it to Andy but I really am nervous about it. I love him, I really do, but I just feel like I'm doing wrong by Emma's real father.

"Margaret, Andy is the real father. It takes more than a donation of sperm to be a father. Andy was there to watch her learn to crawl, he was there to get up with her in the middle of the night, and he was there when you brought her home from the hospital. All of this for a child that he knows isn't even biologically his. You'll never find a better man than that"

"You know at times I thought I was in love with her real father. Sometimes, when he looked at me I even fooled myself into believing that I saw something there in his eyes. That maybe he felt the same way. That's what I love so much about Andy. He lets me know everyday how much he loves and needs me. There's no guessing. He's not afraid to show his true feelings. He's perfect for Emma and me."

_So why can't I get him off my mind_, Margaret silently added to herself.

Later that evening Margaret and Andy were sitting around the living room of Trapper's house with their closest friends discussing wedding plans. At times the conversation was very serious and then the whole group would bust out laughing at some crazy suggestion.

"John you've been my best friend for over a year" Andy was saying "and I want you to be my best man. Anyway, you have to because you even introduced us."

"I'd be honored" Trapper replied sincerely.

Around 10:00 the gang decided it'd be best to call it a night. Emma was already fast asleep. Trapper and Louise knew it was past Kathy and Becky's normal bedtime.

Trapper stood up and stretched. "Do you guys need a ride home?"

"I do" Sam replied standing up.

"It's such a beautiful night we'll just walk if it's ok with you Margaret" Andy said as he pulled Margaret to her feet.

"That sounds wonderful to me"

As Trapper and Sam set off towards her apartment, Andy and Margaret set out on foot in the opposite direction heading home. They walked slowly, enjoying the twinkling stars and just being together. Andy was carrying Emma in the crook of his left arm and had his right arm wrapped around Margaret's waist.

Later that night after Emma was put to bed, Margaret lye in bed awake. Andy was already sound asleep. They had made love and then just held each other as he dosed off to sleep. All she could think of was their upcoming marriage. In less than 2 weeks she would be married again. Maybe I should push the wedding date back a little, she thought to herself. But she didn't want to hurt him. He was such a wonderful man and doctor. Since Emma was born she'd only worked part-time. Andy took care of them both financially and emotionally. What's more important was the fact that he loved her with all of heart. As she began to get sleepier she allowed her mind to wander. Memories, and voices for the past started flooding back.

Flashback

She sat in her tent not knowing what to do. She was unmarried and she highly suspected that she was pregnant. The one person that she could usually confide in was the one person that she couldn't go to this time. How would he react if she told him? She decided to request some R&R in Tokyo, and she'd get a pregnancy test done there. The results were exactly what she'd thought they would be. Now the question was how to tell him. It was all in the timing. She planned a perfect time. Potter had just told them all about a 4th of July Beach Trip. That would be the perfect time and setting. Once there she'd finally summoned up enough courage to tell him. She called him to the side.

"Hawkeye, I need to talk to you"

"I already know what you're going to say" he said, interrupting her. "You find me irresistible in these shorts".

"It's important" Margaret had an annoyed look on her face.

"Are you ok Margaret" Hawkeye asked with a concerned look on his face.

"Hawkeye, I consider you a really close friend" she started

"Hey Hawk"

They both turned around to see BJ approaching. "We're starting a game of volleyball and we need some more players, uh….I didn't interrupt anything Did I?"

"No!" Margaret said quickly, "Let's play, we'll probably have to go back soon anyway"

As the three started walking toward the waiting players, Hawk reached out to slow Margaret down a little bit. When they'd lagged behind enough, Hawkeye whispered "I thought you needed to talk?"

"It's nothing that can't wait" she'd already lost her nerve.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive"

"Ok, but let's talk as soon as we get back to the 4077th" Hawk replied, still not convinced.

"It's a deal"

They were never able to have that talk. After that horrible bus ride home, Hawkeye wasn't the same. Then he'd had to go into a mental institution. When he'd come back he was afraid to be around children. How could she possibly tell him now? The Peace talks were going good and she knew that she may not have much time left to tell him. At the party they'd thrown for Erin and the little Korean child's birthday, she decided to try again. She watched Sidney walk away leaving Hawkeye sitting alone by the river. She decided to take this opportunity and slowly started walking down the hill toward him.

"Hawkeye" she said, startling him and as he turned around she could see tears in his eyes.

"Hi Margaret"

"Aren't you going to join the others…they have cake?"

"No….I think I'll stay down here for awhile, it's quiet and peaceful."

"Hawk, you know you can confide in me" she said sitting down beside him and gently laying her hand on his arm, "Lord knows you've always been here for me"

"Margaret, I'm so afraid" he said as the tears started to fall from his eyes

"Of what" she asked, tentively putting her arms around him, pulling him towards her.

As he leaned closer into her embrace and lay his head on her shoulder the tears started to fall more freely.

"I'm afraid that I'll never move past this, that I'll always be uncomfortable around children. What if I have my own one day and I'm afraid to hold them?"

"I'm sure with therapy and time you'll move past this. We've all seen horrible things in this war, things we should never have had to see, but I can almost see the end now. I

Don't think this war is going to last much longer. Then we'll all be home, safe with our families."

Leaning back a little bit to look into her eyes he said "I hope you're right Margaret"

"It just takes time Hawk" she said as he lay his head back on her shoulder.

"What would I do without you Margaret? You're the only one that hasn't left me yet. Trapper left. BJ left, but they made him come back. You've been with me since the beginning."

"I'll always be here for you Hawk" she said realizing at that moment just how much she meant it. She lay her head against his and tears came to her eyes as the realized that for the first time in her life she cared more about someone else's happiness than she cared about her own. For Hawkeye's sake she couldn't tell him about their child. She loved him enough to let him go.

Then peace had been declared. She'd told everyone that she had chosen to work in a hospital in the states, when in truth that's all she could do. She wouldn't be able to stay in the army much longer. Next came the bittersweet farewells. She almost lost it when it was their turn to say goodbye. She couldn't find any words to say, but then again neither could he. Could that have meant that he felt the same way she now wondered? Once she arrived at the 8063rd she knew that she had to start planning. Not just for her sake, but for her unborn child. She'd called one of her best friends that she'd managed to keep in touch with over the years. A fellow army brat like herself named Samantha. Sam, having just come out of a bad relationship and needing a change of scenery, agreed to move to Boston with Margaret. Boston was the most logical place to go Margaret had said, trying to rationalize her decision to herself and Sam. After all her uncle basically ran Boston Mercy, so they would be able to get good jobs there. Plus she knew a couple of people in Boston like Charles and even Trapper. In her heart she knew that the real reason she'd said Boston was because she needed to feel close to Hawkeye, yet be far enough away so that he'd probably never see her.

At first things had been hard. She knew that Trapper lived in Boston, but she hadn't planned on him working at Boston Mercy. For the first month or so he was terrible. He pulled so many horrible jokes and pranks on her. When he saw that she had changed and wasn't the Major that he'd been stuck with in Korea, their relationship started to change. They started to confide in each other and had become really close friends. Then there was his best friend Andy. Andy was gorgeous. He was perfectly built and he had solid black hair. His personality reminded her so much of Hawkeye. Maybe that's why she was secretly attracted to him.

One day she was standing outside of the hospital waiting for Trapper to come pick her up. He'd promised to take her home that day. He was already 10 minutes late. She absentmindedly rubbed her stomach. It was getting bigger and loose clothes wouldn't be able to hide it much longer. So far the only people that knew of her "condition" were Sam and herself.

"What kind of man would stand up a lady as pretty as you" a masculine voice asked.

"Trapper should be here any moment" Margaret hated the fact that she blushed when Andy complimented her. Could she actually have feelings for this man? It's probably just the hormones she rationalized.

"He asked me to take you home" Andy responded with a sly grin "he said something about having business to attend to, is that ok with you?"

"Sure, I wouldn't want to walk home" Margaret said with a smile.

"Wait right here, I'll bring the car around"

Margaret was about to say she could just walk with him, but he was already gone. It only took a minute or two for Andy to pull up right in front of her. He hopped out of the car and came to her side to open her door for her.

"So would you like to go get dinner?"

As much as she'd have liked to, she had politely declined his invitation. It would be unfair to him, with her condition.

When they'd arrived at her apartment, he'd walked her to the door. Just as she was about to walk in he'd called her name.

"Margaret?"

"Yea?" she said turning around

He seemed almost shy and hesitant as to what he should say. Finally he looked at her.

"I really like you…..and I guess what I'd really like to know is why you always turn me down?

"Can we talk about this inside?"

"Sure" he replied as he followed her in.

She gestured for him to sit on the sofa, and she sat down on the opposite end.

"Andy….you're a very good friend, and sometimes I do feel that there may be a little more to it, but it's nothing that we can pursue"

"Why not?" he asked with confusion written all over his face.

"I'm pregnant."

The shocked look on his face told her everything that she needed to know.

"I'm really busy, so if you could just let yourself out, and keep this to yourself" she was saying as she stood up to walk into the next room.

"Wait!" he said, finally pulling himself together.

"Andy it's ok, really."

"So is the father coming to meet you here?"

"The father isn't in the picture"

"Then why can't you see me?"

"Are you crazy, it'd ruin your reputation!"

"Look, I know that I haven't known you for long, but I care about you. Just give me a chance. That's all I'm asking for. And who cares what people think?"

"So…..is that dinner invitation still open, you know I am eating for two…."

end flashback

She loved Andy so much. He'd saved her in so many ways. She was almost sure that she was over Hawkeye. Now if she could just get over this nagging feeling of guilt about not even giving Hawk that chance to know his 1st and only daughter.

To be continued...


	2. The Wedding

Chapter 2

Margaret stood in front of the mirror admiring her beautiful wedding gown. Unlike her wedding to Donald, this one was going to be perfect. The bridesmaid dresses were all a deep hunter green, after all she may have left the army, but she still loved it. Everything was so perfect, and she couldn't understand why she wasn't happier. She had the perfect man, a beautiful & perfect child, and a perfect house. Andy had already asked to legally adopt Emma after they were married. Most people thought that she was Andy's child anyway. "I have a child to think about", she said to herself, trying to convince herself that she was doing the right thing. She stopped pacing long enough to look at the clock. Only one hour left of being alone. Only one hour left of freedom.

"Margaret are you decent?" Trapper asked through the closed door.

"Come on in Trapp." She could hear Emma crying.

"I'm sorry, she won't stop crying. I'd swear she has your temper. Sometimes I…" Trapper stopped in mid-sentence as he saw Margaret for the first time. "Margaret, You look beautiful"

"Thank you" she replied as she took the screaming child.

As she looked into Emma's crying blue eyes; eyes so much like her fathers, she realized what had to be done.

"Trapper?"

"Yeah?" the tone of her voice was worrying him.

"I need your help"

"Uh…ok, what is it?" he didn't like the way she wouldn't quite meet his eye.

"I need for you to go with me to Crabapple Cove"

"What's in Crabapple Cove?"

"Emma's Father"

Trapper was at a loss for words, and his silence wasn't doing anything to help ease Margaret's nerves.

"Well, Will you help me or not?"

"Are you saying what I think you're saying? Is this Hawkeye's baby?" the look on her face told him the truth. "How could you not tell me the truth? Hawkeye used to be my best friend! Didn't you think I'd want to know this!" His voice was growing louder and louder.

"McIntyre wait a Minute! First of all you weren't exactly nice to me when I first arrived here. And yes it was a mistake to deceive you. I should have told you and Andy the truth. But most of all I should have told Hawkeye. Don't think that I don't realize the situation that I've put us all in." she had tears in her eyes as she said this.

Trapper could see that she was getting choked up. He felt guilty for upsetting her.

"Just tell me this. What are you going to tell him, and what are you going to tell Andy?"

"I'll figure all of that out when I see him, but we can't tell Andy about it yet."

"Why not?"

"Because… I don't know….I just want to deal with Hawkeye first."

"Ok, We'll get through the wedding and while you're on your honeymoon I'll make the arrangements" he was saying, mentally checking off the things he'd have to do.

"Trapper I want to go now!" As soon as she'd blurted the words out she realized how crazy and neurotic she must seem to him.

Trapper just stared at her as if she'd just sprouted wings.

"I want to go now" she repeated, feeling a little more confident. "Your truck is parked out back, right?"

"Well yeah but…"

"No buts. Let's go!"

"What about Andy, what about my wife? How will it look? Everyone's going to think that we ran away together."

"Trapper" Margaret said with exasperation, "Do you care about Hawkeye?"

"Yes but.."

"Do you care about me?"

"Of course I do Margaret."

"I need you Trapper, I need you for emotional support and as a buffer" she said with pleading eyes

"What do you mean a buffer?"

"You used to be his best friend. You can help him accept this. I know he's going to be mad, he'll probably hate me." He heard a sadness in her voice that he couldn't quite understand. Was this just about Emma, or did Margaret actually love Hawkeye?

"Ok, Let's go"

"Really?" she asked with excitement in her voice.

"Really" he replied giving her a hug

"Wait, first go find Sam. I want her to watch Emma while we're gone."

"Don't you think that we may need to take Emma with us? She's kind of the whole reason we're going."

"No, I want to be able to work my way into it. I just…..I just have to do this my own way."

"Ok" Trapper said with a slight grin on his face, "For better or worse we're going to do this"

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Margaret sat silently in the passenger's seat of Trappers truck. There were a million thoughts going through her head. What if she'd made the wrong decision? She hadn't even heard from Hawkeye since they'd left the 4077th, and that was over a year ago. He could be married, or have another child. She hadn't even thought of that possibility until now.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm wondering what I was thinking when I decided to do this. What do you suppose Andy's doing right now?"

"Probably wanting to kill both of us. Louise probably thinks we've run off together too. I'll bet she's already been to a lawyer to start the divorce proceedings."

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this Trapp."

"Margaret, you know I love you; you're my best-friend. I want to be here for you…..for all of you"

"All of us?"

"You, Emma and Hawkeye. You're all like family to me. I know that I haven't talked to Hawk in awhile, but he was the only thing that kept me sane during the war."

"You miss him don't you?"

"I do, but I didn't know how to reconnect with him. I didn't know how to say goodbye, so I just left. I just left him there, without so much as a note or a phone call. Now it's been three and a half years. Over three years of silence……How do you apologize for something like that?" There was such sadness in his voice that had he not been driving, Margaret would have reached over and hugged him.

"You have to try. If you don't, you'll wake up one day and it may be too late. You'll never get the chance to say all of the things that you needed to say. Life's to fragile."

After two more hours of driving, they finally arrived at their destination.

"We could probably ask for directions to Hawk's house at any of these stores, I'll bet they all know him" Trapper said as he curiously looked around the tiny town.

"Uh………Let's check into a hotel first. I'm pretty worn out after the day I've had."

"My wife is probably in the process of divorcing me. You'd better not be backing out now" he replied as he eyed her suspiciously.

"No! I'm just tired. I'll be able to think more rationally after I've had some sleep."

Not really believing her, but deciding against arguing, Trapper pulled into the first Hotel he could find. Neither one had brought extra money, so they decided to share a room. After checking in, the two stood at the doorway inspecting their tiny room.

"I hope you don't intend for me to sleep on that tiny couch" Trapper said as he eyed the couch with dismay.

"We're both adults, we'll share the bed"

Trapper was about to make a joke when she said this, but the look on her face made him hold his tongue.

"Why don't you call and explain things to Louise? Tell her not to talk to Andy though; it's my place to do that."

Margaret walked over to the bed collapsing on one side of it, while Trapper went in search of a phone. After settling things with Louise, Trapper lay down beside Margaret. She was already fast asleep. As he watched her sleep, he wondered what was in store for her. Closing his eyes, he silently prayed that Hawkeye would accept Margaret and Emma with open arms.

Upon waking up, Margaret rolled over to look at the clock. Nine o'clock! She rarely slept that late. Sitting up, Margaret felt nauseated and quickly ran to the bathroom. Woken up by her sudden movements, Trapper called out "Are you ok?"

"Just a little nervous" she shakily replied.

After taking a quick shower, she started pacing back and forth across the room. Trapper was taking a shower, so she was left all alone with her thoughts. She put her hand to her heart. It felt as if it was about to come out of her chest. She wished that she'd taken the time to pack a few things. She was wearing the same dress that she'd worn to the chapel yesterday. "He's going to hate me anyway, it's not like he'll care how I look" she muttered to herself.

"Did you say something?"

"Oh, no, I was just talking to myself. I thought you were still in the shower"

"Nope, just finished. Are you ready to go?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Margaret grabbed a pen and a piece of paper as they were leaving the room.

"What are you doing?"

"In case he isn't home, I'll leave a message"

Margaret started writing her letter as Trapper asked the desk clerk for directions. A small part of her hoped that he wasn't at home.

Dear Hawkeye,

I'm sorry that I missed you. Trapper and I stopped by to see how you were doing.

I really need to talk to you. I'll be at the hotel here in town for a little while. I

Hope to see you soon.

Your Friend,

Margaret

She had no pockets, so she held on to the letter as she rode to Hawkeye's home.

"I think this is it" Trapper said as he pulled into the driveway of a small house.

She held on tightly to the letter as she stood outside the truck looking around. It was smaller than she'd expected, but it had a wonderful view of the ocean. In her opinion that more than made up for the size.

"You coming?" Trapper asked as he started walking up the driveway.

Walking up the steps to the porch Margaret looked for a car. "It doesn't look like he's home, there's no cars here"

Trapper knocked on the front door. No answer.

"You know, maybe if we saw the inside of the house we'd know more about what to expect."

"Huh?" Trapper couldn't believe what she seemed to be suggesting.

"We could see if he had children, or was married or whatever……."

"Margaret Please don't tell me you're thinking of breaking into Hawkeye's House!" She really Has gone crazy he added silently to himself.

"Not breaking in exactly, just getting better prepared!"

"NO! I'm drawing the line here! I came all the way up here, against my better judgment, and now…..Now you want me to break into the man's house!"

"Please Trapper, just so I'll know what to expect. I promise that no one will ever have to know. Do you know how scary this is for me? My whole future is at stake, not to mention Emma's."

"How are we supposed to get in without breaking something?" he asked with a resigned sigh.

"Don't even act like you weren't the one who broke into my tent a million times!"

"Ok, Ok…..Give me a hairpin"

Pulling one out of her hair, she handed it to him. It only took a few minutes for Trapper to get the door open. As they cautiously walked through the door, Trapper called out "Hello? Is anyone home?"

Hearing no answer, Margaret turned around and locked the front door back.

"Ok, I guess we should split up so we can get this done faster.." Trapper felt that if they were going to do this, they were at least not going to get caught at it.

"Ok, you go upstairs, and I'll look around down here.

"Ok" Trapper said as he headed upstairs "but I want you to know; I still think this is just a little bit crazy….even for you."

Margaret decided to start her search in the living room. As she looked at the photos, she felt a sinking sensation. Many of them were of Hawkeye and a woman. The woman looked vaguely familiar to her. Margaret picked up one of the pictures to get a better look at the woman.

"That's Carlye." Margaret let out a yelp and almost dropped the picture.

"Dammit McIntyre! Why do you always sneak up on me!"

"Who is this?" he asked ignoring her question. Margaret looked at the photo that Trapper had. It was of BJ and Hawkeye clowning around. It looked recent. It hadn't been taken at the 4077th.

"That's BJ. He's Hawkeye's best friend." She realized her mistake when she saw a hint of jealously on Trapper's face.

As she turned around she saw invitations on the coffee table. It looked like wedding invitations. She was almost afraid to pick one up. As she set her note on the table, she picked up an invitation. Trapper came up behind her to see why she'd suddenly grown silent.

"Mr. and Mrs. John Breslin request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Carlye Breslin to Benjamin Franklin Pierce on Saturday the fifth of December 1954 at two o'clock" he read out loud

Margaret looked up at the calendar, "Their marriage was a week ago. They're probably on their honeymoon right now."

Dropping their invitation, Margaret headed for the front door. "We have to get out of here, it's time to go home" she was on the verge of crying and was trying desperately hard not to let Trapper see.

"Wait a minute" he said as he grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him. "We came all this way, and you aren't even going to talk to him?"

"How can I" she asked in exasperation, tears were starting to run down her face. "I have nothing! Andy's probably going to leave me. I seriously doubt that I even have a home! Hawkeye has a wife and a stable home. What if he got angry with me? He could take her away! I can't live without my daughter!"

"He wouldn't do that to you" Trapper said, hugging her tightly and trying to sooth her.

Pulling back a little, she wiped her face with her sleeve. "I don't think he would either, but it's not a chance that I'm willing to take."

"You love him." It wasn't a question, more like a statement.

"What difference does it make? It's over now. It's all over." As she said this, she began sobbing. She could no longer hold it in.

"Let's go home." Trapper said as he led her out of the house.

It was a three hour trip back to Boston. "Do you want to stay at my house tonight?"

"No thanks, I just want to go get Emma. I haven't seen her in two days"

Trapper pulled the truck up along the curb in front of Sam's apartment building. "I'll go get her, that way you won't have to explain anything tonight."

Trapper slid back into the truck, handing Emma to Margaret. Margaret cradled Emma in her arms, trying not to wake her up. She couldn't help but smile at her beautiful daughter. As Trapper pulled into Margaret's driveway, she felt fear in the pit of her stomach. Was Andy at home? Could he ever forgive her? Where would she go if he kicked her out? After giving Trapper a hug and a gentle kiss on the cheek, she slowly made her way to the front door.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Margaret felt like a stranger as she entered her own house. She wondered where Andy was as she walked up the stairs to put Emma in her crib. Tears were streaming down her face as she gently laid Emma down.

"You know it's funny. I never realized how much I loved your father until I realized that he'd moved on without me. I guess I always thought that somehow he would see that he needed me like I need him. I'll be ok though, I have the best part of him. I have you. I love you so much sweetheart" she whispered as she lovingly ran a finger down Emma's tiny pink cheek.

Hearing a noise she turned around. She jumped when she saw Andy standing silently in the doorway.

"Andy….I didn't know you were standing there…."

"I know" the cold look in his eyes was starting to make her heart beat faster.

"I want you to know that I never meant to hurt you…"she was trying to buy time. She didn't know how much he'd actually heard.

"You agreed to marry me, you live in my house" his voice was getting louder and harsher with each sentence, "I play daddy to your baby, and Now I hear you profess your love for another man!"

"Andy let's talk about this in another room" she said pleadingly "I don't want to wake Emma up."

"I don't give a Damn about what You want!" he said in a low menacing voice.

"You don't understand" she was trying to back away from him, but she only managed to back herself into a corner.

"You don't think I fucking understand! You used me you little whore and what's worse is that you tricked me into loving you!" he was screaming in her face, but there was now where she could go. For the first time in her life she felt totally helpless. She could hear Emma crying in the background. She tried to duck when she saw his fist coming at her face, but there wasn't enough time. She fell to the floor as blackness surrounded her.

All she felt was pain. She wanted to open her eyes, but she felt so sleepy. Slowly she sat up, fighting back a wave of nausea. At first she was confused, still trying to figure out why she was hurting and on the floor. A sob escaped her lips as the events of the previous night came flooding back to her. Moving as quickly as she could, she stood and hurriedly went to check on Emma. After making sure that Emma was ok, she did a quick scan of the house to make sure that Andy was gone. Noticing the blood on her dress, she quickly went to the bathroom to get cleaned up and to change clothes. As she started to scrub her face, she winced at her reflection. Her left eye was swollen completely shut. She was desperately trying to think of someone that she could call to give her a ride to the bus station. She didn't want to bring Trapper in the middle of this. She knew that he'd try to make Andy pay for what he'd done to her. It wasn't safe to call Sam. What if Andy tried to stop her? He might hurt Sam too. She hurried back into Emma's room to pack her things first. She hurriedly threw things in, not bothering with any sort of order. Emma had woken up by this time and Margaret swept her up and carried Emma on her hip as she ran to her own room to pack.

She froze as she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. As quietly as she could, she reached over and softly pushed the bedroom door shut, cursing as she remembered that it didn't lock. The footsteps seemed to pause outside the door as if debating on which door to try. She looked down at Emma, who was smiling up at her oblivious to the danger they were in.

The footsteps moved on and Margaret released a breath that she hadn't even been aware of holding. Carrying Emma over to the window, she looked out, trying to determine if they could make it out safely that way. Being on the second story, it would be quite a jump. Determining that it was the only option, she carefully and slowly tried to open the window. Only it made a loud creaking noise! She froze, listening for the footsteps. They had stopped and were slowly coming back, listening for anymore sounds. Panicking she held Emma tightly and was about to jump when she heard him call her name.

"Margaret?"

Once again she stood frozen, not out of fear this time, but shock. Could it really be him?

"Hawkeye?" she called out timidly, still not believing her own ears.

"Margaret, where are you?" he called back, his footsteps quickening as he came towards her voice.

Running towards the door she quickly jerked it open and flung herself into Hawkeye's arms. Hawkeye felt like crying as he stood holding Margaret and her baby in his arms. When he'd read Margaret's note, he'd hoped that she missed him. But now, looking at the photos on the wall, standing in the house that she shared with another man, he saw the truth. She'd moved on. She had a baby with someone else. She had probably wanted to invite him to a wedding or something.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you. The door was open." He said into her hair, still not ready to release her and face reality.

"I'm just glad you're here" she whispered, her voice slightly muffled by his chest.

"But….why are you here?" Now that the shock and happiness had subsided, she had started to get a grasp of the situation. He was still married. He still didn't know about Emma, and she'd wager that he still hadn't seen her eye.

Not wanting to make a fool of himself and sound like a love sick puppy he hurriedly tried to explain. "Your letter sounded urgent, but you didn't leave your address and you weren't at the hotel. Since you were with Trapp, I assumed that you were in Boston. So I drove up here. Trapper wasn't at home, but his wife gave me your address. I didn't.."

"Wait a minute! Slow down" she said interrupting him "What letter?"

"The one you left in my house! By the way, how did you get in my house?" he asked as he pulled back to look at her. "What the hell happened to your eye?"

"It doesn't matter, I have to finish packing" she replied, pulling away from him and going back into her room. Following her into the room, he grabbed her by the shoulders spinning her around to face him.

"You're at least going to leave him aren't you?" she could hear the concern in his voice, but that just made her angrier. Why was he even here? He should be at home with his wife!

"What the hell do you think?" she angrily yelled gesturing towards the suitcases. She immediately regretted her outburst when she saw the hurt look in his eyes. After all, it wasn't his fault. He couldn't have found her after the war, even if he'd tried. She'd known where he'd be, but she never even called. How could she blame him for moving own with his life? They'd never been together anyway!

"I'm sorry Hawk….it's just…"

"It's ok; I know you're going through a lot right now. Let me hold her, that way you can pack faster."

"Her name is Emma" she said as the handed Emma to her father.

"Do you need for me to pack her things?"

"It's already done"

"I'll go ahead and put them in the car"

After putting Emma's things in his car, he looked down at the child. She was beautiful! She had shiny black hair, but her eyes looked exactly like Margaret's.

"You're a beautiful little girl, you know that?" he said while tickling her tiny neck with one finger. Emma just giggled in response.

Margaret turned to look at Hawkeye as he entered the room with Emma. It was a heartbreaking sight. She could never tell him now. That could break up his marriage.

"Do you think he'll fight you for custody?"

Margaret looked over at Hawkeye who was now sitting on the floor playing with Emma.

"He won't try to take her"

"How do you know?"

"All finished" she said, closing the last suitcase and dodging his question.

Handing Emma back to Margaret, Hawkeye picked up the last two suitcases to take them to the car. While Hawkeye was putting her suitcases into the trunk, Margaret was still debating on where to go.

Noticing that she had a faraway look in her eyes, and still hadn't gotten in the car, he went over to her and pulled her back into his arms.

"It'll be ok," he told her while gently placing a kiss on her forehead, "You and Emma can stay with me for as long as you need to."

"Are you crazy? I can't live with you and your wife!" she yelled, jerking away from him. He was worse than Frank! "Just take me to the bus station!"

"What are you talking about? Do you see a wedding ring?" he held up his left hand for emphasis.

"Don't you dare lie to me Pierce! I saw the invitations! And to think, I trusted you!"

"Oh, you want to talk about trust! How the hell did you see the invitations? How did you leave the note on my table?"

"The door was open! I thought you were at home!"

"You're lying, and you know what? I don't even care! We haven't even seen each other in over a year! I'm not arguing with you! You want to go to the bus station? That's fine with me, but let me ask you one thing. You did see the invitations; did you ever stop to wonder why they were on the table and not in the mail?

"You're didn't get married?" she felt like an idiot now. Why hadn't she thought about that?

"I was engaged. About a month before the wedding, I backed out. I couldn't marry her. I'd given my heart to you years ago, even if I didn't realize it at the time. I love you Margaret." At that point he pulled her to him, kissing her passionately.

Giving in, her hands went up to his back, then tangling in his hair and pulling him down deeper into her mouth. Breathless they both pulled back.

"I love you so much Margaret" he said gently caressing her cheek. "I'm sorry, I know this is to soon for you, but I can't let you walk out of my life again without telling you how I feel" he whispered. Tears were streaming down her face

"Hawkeye….I lied to you" This wasn't what he was expecting to hear.

"Huh?"

"You're going to hate me, but you deserve the truth" At this point Hawkeye was becoming more worried by the minute.

"I was engaged too. But I knew that I loved you. That's one reason that I came to see you"

"And I love you so lets…"

"No, wait! Let me finish. I also came to tell you that I'd had your child." Unable to read the look on his face, she hurriedly went on. "I wanted to tell you, but after everything that happened in Korea, I wasn't sure if that was the best thing. I just wanted you to be happy" she pleaded grabbing his hands. "Please don't be mad at me, I love you more than anything, and I didn't want to force you into marriage because of a baby."

"Shhh" he whispered, silencing her with his finger on her lips "Just give me a minute to think" as he said this he pulled her to him slowly rocking her. He could feel her sobbing against him and his shirt was getting wet from her tears. He said nothing, but he kept running his fingers through her hair and rubbing her back in an effort to sooth her. He wanted to be mad. He'd missed the birth of his first and only child. He hadn't helped pick out her name. He didn't even know her full name. And what if he hadn't come today? His first born would've grown up calling someone else Daddy. He could feel Margaret's fingernails digging into his back. She was clinging to him as if she thought that he might turn around and walk away from her forever. He looked over her head to her child….their child, who was sitting in the car, looking at them curiously. He couldn't feel the anger that he wanted. All he could feel was happiness! Emma was his! Margaret had said that she loved him! There was only one option for him. Pulling back from Margaret, he pulled out a handkerchief from his top pocket and gently dabbed Margaret's tears away.

Holding her face in his hands, he leaned down and gently kissed her lips. Resting his forehead against hers he whispered "Let's go home now"

The End

A/N I'm a sucker for happy endings!


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